James O'Donnell - how good can he be?

[lemmon]

O'Donnell has worked his way into some fantastic form, and we're all seeing those 'traits' that made Bevo so keen to feed him games when he wasn't ready and there wasn't a spot.

He's nearly 200cm and moves like a half-back flanker, he's a beautifully aesthetic kick, we've seen that he has an intercept game, and over the last few weeks he's started to show that he can genuinely 'defend' as well. The closest comparison that I can think of in terms of having all of those raw ingredients was Tom Williams when he could get on the park.

I think we potentially have an elite key back in JOD and he should be the guy we're sending to the opposition's best key forward, starting with Cameron this week.

He's only 35 games of AFL footy, but give him another 35 and I think we're talking about a potentially All Australian player.

[GVGjr]

I'm not sure there is a lot more upside in his game but hoping that there is. Hopefully we will see him 90% of the time as a defender because it's his more natural position.
We owe a bit to Mat Innes for directing the club towards JOD

[Aidan7557]

Just needs a clean run at it. Has crazy athleticism with big tree trunk legs. That play on Caddy last night where he tapped the ball from his grasp is what JOD can do. Did the same thing against Hogan when he realised he can just sit behind the forward and jump over them to get to the ball. He is 22 and still raw.

[Go_Dogs]

I'm not sure there is a lot more upside in his game but hoping that there is. Hopefully we will see him 90% of the time as a defender because it's his more natural position.
We owe a bit to Mat Innes for directing the club towards JOD

I suspect there is still upside in his game, more craft and positioning based.

To the question how good can he be? Well I suspect he can be our main key defender in time (probably the not too distant future) who can also swing forward when required. Is he an AA quality defender? Maybe. There aren’t many spots for key defenders and many good ones around, but if he continues to improve he may end up in the conversation.

[mighty_west]

From day dot his first game at Princess Park in the VFL he just looked the goods, a dozen or so marks and read the play like a 100 gamer, sometimes you can just see it with younger players and he is now stepping up to that next level, big call but still see Rance traits, he's a bit like Lobb having played both back and forward, both are or would be C-B grade forwards, or B-A grade defenders, that's his position.

[jeemak]

Outside of running at other players face first, I've been really impressed with his development.

He's very clean for someone still clearly learning defensive craft. I think he can become a very good defender, who can do a bit of everything really well.

[SonofScray]

AA in a few seasons and premiership FB this year.

[Raels_d]

he's a bit like Lobb having played both back and forward, both are or would be C-B grade forwards, or B-A grade defenders, that's his position.[/QUOTE]

and Naughton

[Uninformed]

Quite a bit of improvement ahead, I think. As he gains experience and confidence at the level he will be a gun for a long time.

[Bornadog]

I was impressed with him from day one and he is getting better and better. Surprisingly fast for a big man and at 22 years old, the sky is the limit for him.

[kruder]

He really needs to stop leading with his head going into a contested ground ball his career will end early if he doesn't adjust this.

Like how he is progressing since Jones has been out, just needs to take the easier option with ball in hand but with his intercepting ability and athletic traits no reason why he cant continue to improve.

[BontlowSzn]

I'm glad this thread was created. His last two weeks have been absolutely superb. I'm surprised it hasn't drawn more excitement from supporters.

I see no reason to suggest he is anywhere near a finished product. The fact he's putting these games together whlist being thrown around recently (forward, ruck, back) is exciting.

[Mantis]

I'm not sure there is a lot more upside in his game but hoping that there is. Hopefully we will see him 90% of the time as a defender because it's his more natural position.

I’m really surprised by this take given the level of improvement we’ve seen over the course of this season… and even more so in the last couple of games.

I think we’re only scraping the surface to the type of player James can develop in to.

[ledge]

If he doesn’t get injured , I can’t see jones getting another game . Lobb going well
and It’s time to get the Buss in for more games. Sadly I think Jones is finished.

[whythelongface]

If he doesn’t get injured , I can’t see jones getting another game . Lobb going well
and It’s time to get the Buss in for more games. Sadly I think Jones is finished.

Of course this may well be the case if JOD continues to perform well and his trajectory continues, however we are only one or two injuries away from needing cover. Don’t think Jones is finished just yet and his experience may come in handy if there is injury or form lapses.